Pastoral: To Die in the Country (田園に死す)

We've got Carpenter Street, Temple Street, Rice Street, Buddha Street.

But hey, swallow bird, isn't there a street where they would buy old mothers?

My little brother and the bird:

Went off to buy a new family altar and vanished without a trace.

Are you ready?

Not yet!

Are you ready?

Ready!

In the midst of a young girl's loose hair:

The word "funeral" spelled in the language of flowers.

As I go to bury my dead mother's red comb,

there's only wind howling over the Scary Mountain.

To die in the country

This clock has been ringing for three days without a pause.

It must be very old...

No! It always rings so nicely! Can you make it stop?

You're going to break it! Can you be more careful?

What are you doing?

Can I take it home for repair? It will only take a few days.

No, that won't do!

It would bring us bad luck, if the clock is taken off the wall.

Then, I don't think I can repair it.

You're staring at my wife again!

I'm sorry, I am very sorry.

Shin-chan, it's you! Are you back?

She must be the daughter of that...

No, the daughter of...

More likely the grand-daughter of...

But she looks like the niece of...

And she's pregnant!

She's going to give birth to a bastard.

It's just a little discomfort.

As it's the Day of the Dog...

you ought to wear a red and white maternity corset.

I'm sorry to cause so much trouble.

Whatever you do, don't touch a horse. A mare takes twelve months to bear a foal.

And don't say the word "horse" either...

or you'll have a difficult labor.

Mommy! The woman next door is really attractive.

Oh, is she?

I saw her taking a nap yesterday. She's just my type!

Mommy! I want to get circumcised.

What?

Circumcised.

Who told you about that?

Nobody. I read it in one of your magazines.

You mustn't read those!

Just read the comic books I buy for you.

They say it keeps you from growing up, and that it's not clean.

I should get rid of it at once.

What will I look like if you keep on with all this nonsense?

When will I start getting hair?

My best friend's got some already.

Shin-chan!

You should listen to what I tell you, or else it will make me really angry.

Don't you think about all this nonsense!

Better think about school.

You're still a child.

Where are you going at this time of the night?

To the Scary Mountain.

- What's there? - I want to see Father.

Whenever I scold him, he runs off to tell his father.

When did it become like this?

His father wouldn't confide in an oracle.

Father! Father, darling!

It's me, your wife.

The needles have grown rusty in the needle box,

yet the rift between me and my mother remains un-stitched.

She rubs and polishes the family altar, her only piece of dowry,

until it shines to reflect her artificial eyeball.

An altar!

Who'd like an altar?

Would you care for an altar?

In the falling twilight...

a bell tolls afar.

Where have they buried...

my dead father's flute?

I'd like to speak to someone who died in 1943.

You who were born on September 4, 1910 and departed on August 3, 1943...

from the Kingdom of Dead wherein you are resting...

come forth onto this world of ours.

I am your father.

I am your father.

You all right, Dad?

It's good of you to come. Thank you for calling me.

I haven't brought you anything. I've just come to talk.

In the world where I'm living, presents are of little use.

I can no longer appear before you, but I can speak to you through an oracle.

Would you like to know what's going on at home?

If you say your prayers, my spirit will always guard you.

I know everything that's going on at home. I have nothing to ask.

Dad...

What?

It's Mom. She's always nagging.

Fate has separated us.

We must resign ourselves to that.

You must obey your mother.

I won't!

In spring, I will run away from home.

Are you asleep?

What's the matter?

Nothing. I've just left a pressed flower under your bed.

I'm sorry!

It's so gorgeous!

Loony soldier! Loony soldier!

Granny, I want to buy a rattle.

I'll put the money here.

It's spring already, and it hasn't gotten any better at all.

Can't you make your wife take care of her duties?!

She doesn't even know how to keep accounts.

I've heard it before, Mother.

Nor how to do laundry!

When she washes your underwear, I have to do it again when she isn't looking.

That's the only reason why it's clean!

She can't even boil an egg! She's never heard of weeding!

I've spent enough money to buy her for you.

She's gotta be working to get my money's worth.

Look! There's a circus!

Come on, one-two-three! One-two-three!

You idiot, can you watch what you're doing?!

No slacking down!

Pull yourself together!

Not like this! No-no-no!

Hey!

Can you pump me up?

Come on, pump me up!

All right.

Like this.

How is it?

All right?

Yeah, it's good.

You moron, you're doing it again!

I shouldn't leave it here.

Hey you, get outta here!

Come back on Sunday, OK? On Sunday!

Or the bogeyman will get you!

What the hell!

The flame-like flowers of amaryllis cast into rapid waters:

What sacrifice does a red flower make?

I shall cut off my eyelids to see better.

The razor blade reflects the horizon.

Hey! You!

Come on in!

- Me? - Yes, you.

- How old are you? - Fifteen.

You're a real man then!

There is a pump over there. Could you please bring it over?

You connect it in here...

and start pumping as hard as you can.

Like this?

No. Much harder!

Wait a bit...

No. That's hopeless. The air isn't coming in.

Oh, you've got a watch! Is it a toy one?

It's a real watch.

It's ticking!

In the circus, everyone has a watch.

Really? But then you must argue a lot!

Why?

Because you wouldn't know whose watch to trust.

Everybody's got a watch, and they all travel together...

- Will you, Mommy? - No!

- Please? - No, there's no way.

It doesn't have to cost much.

We could find one on sale.

The time is meant to be kept at home, inside a big clock.

Why would you put it inside a watch and carry it around?

It makes no sense!

All we have is each other, we're one family.

Why would you need your own watch? Don't we have a clock already?

But isn't it broken?

No, it's totally alright!

It's our family clock!

Cry, baby bird, and make my mother rest asleep...

before she is cast away in the mountains.

The little devil playing hide-and-seek has grown up.

Who is it that the festive villagers keep looking for?

You haven't heard?

A clerk from the Town Hall's disappeared...

with the official register of everyone in the village!

He ran off with the records? When?

This morning.

Then they've all lost their identities!

What a disaster!

Now through a tunnel.

Now it's chugging uphill.

You're very good at it.

I've never actually been on a train. Have you?

Yes. That's how I came here.

Where did you come from?

That's my secret!

Tell me...

Would you like to go on a train someday?

Of course, how would I?

Would you like to run away with me?

But it's impossible! Aren't you already married?

You belong to such an important family!

That doesn't matter.

I can't stand them.

I've always wanted to run away.